I always love coming back to FanX and SLCC to be on the media team.  There is so much amazing cosplay and the celebrity guests never disapoint.  One of the highlights for me this year was meeting Weird Al. I've always been a huge fan of his music and UHF is still one of my favorite movies.  On top of that, one of my favorite cosplayers (Captian K) was dressed as Weird Al and I was able to snap a pic of the two of them together.  Outstanding. Can't wait to go back in September.

More FanX 2017 photos can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/ChiseledLight/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1344476459001482

https://www.facebook.com/pg/ChiseledLight/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1354873411295120

https://www.facebook.com/pg/ChiseledLight/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1337865092995952

https://www.facebook.com/pg/ChiseledLight/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1335503693232092

The Denver Broncos are the champions of Super Bowl 50!  They brought the Lombardi trophy back to Denver and had a parade and rally to celebrate.  Over a million fans were in attendance.  It took a lot of effort to get into the city, but I was lucky enough to join in the celebrations and take some photos.  This was probably Peyton Manning's "last rodeo" and it was great to see him win another Super Bowl.  Von Miller was the game MVP and led the defense to a record setting season.

More photos of the event can be found here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/+BryanRasmussen1/albums/6249804723840990353

The hot air balloon festival of Colorado Springs is back.  Under new management and with a new name, the Labor Day Lift Off is still scheduled around the Labor Day holiday.  Plenty of balloons, festivities, and fun to be had at the annual event.

Here are some pictures from this year's event: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/+BryanRasmussen1/albums/6191086541814463537

Ben Carson, presidential candidate, made a stop in Colorado Springs on August 27, 2015.  I was able to be at the event and take some photos.  It was exciting to see a candidate up close.  He had a lot of great things to say and there was a lot of energy at the rally.  It was a great opportunity to witness part of the political process here in Colorado.

More photos can be found here:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/118194178524798538722/albums/6249801459043590817

I happened to be in Boston this year during the time that the marathon was happening. It was an incredible event to behold. I stood outside in the bitter cold and rain for four hours doing my best to protect my equipment from the weather...and loved every minute of it. I was just a block or two from the finish line and got to witness athletes at the point where they were the most drained (physically, mentally, and emotionally), yet at the point where they also had the most hope because the end was finally in sight. I saw top athletes from around the globe come striding in at a blistering pace. I also saw disabled folks cross the finish line claiming their own personal victories. I saw military veterans running in their boots and uniforms. In the background were armies of volunteers helping make the event possible as well as law enforcement protecting runners and spectators. Check out all of my Boston Marathon photos here because the photos say a lot more than my words ever could:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/+BryanRasmussen1/albums/6141642445946747761

My second year of being on the photography staff for StarFest. Three years ago it was this convention that got me hooked on photographing conventions and cosplay. In addition to be a great convention all around, StarFest sticks out to me as having an amazing costume contest and dance (Federation Ball). While the main focus of the convention is probably Star Wars and Star Trek, there are different "fests" within the convention devoted to Dr. Who, Horror, model builing, and gaming. Here is my photo gallery from StarFest 2015:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/+BryanRasmussen1/albums/6141277525102109569

Galaxy Fest is a sci-fi convention right here in the good old 719 (Colorado Springs). It's full of zombies, steam punk, comics, and all things geek. Galaxy Fest also has a fashion show that highlights local designers and talent. It is a very worth-while convention to attend.  It says a lot that this convention was held at the same time as Animeland Wasabi up in Denver and I chose to attend Galaxy Fest. Here is a link to my shots of the fashion show part of the convention:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.733987073383760.1073741860.191755527606920&type=3

I am a huge Dr. Who geek.  I was beyond excited to take pictures of Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Billie Piper at FanX 15. Other very cool celebrities that I got to photograph were Mark Pelligrino (Supernatural, Lost), Anthony Michael Hall (Breakfast Club), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek), and Tom Felton (Harry Potter). My celebrity photo album from FanX 15 can be viewed here:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/+BryanRasmussen1/albums/6113206365911743953

From the creators of Salt Lake Comic Con comes FanX, which is a slightly smaller event in the Winter/Spring. Just as much fun as SLCC, the Salt Lake events are my favorite cons to take photos for. The celebrity lineup was amazing and I really enjoyed being on the media staff and taking group cosplay photos at this event. I look forward to hopefully returning to this even for years to come.  See all of my FanX 15 photos on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.715748575207610.1073741858.191755527606920&type=3

Nan Desu Kan (NDK for short) is a Japanese pun translating loosely to "what is it?".  NDK is in the family of comic cons, but focuses mainly on Japanese art, animation, and culture.  Held each year in Denver in September, NDK is one of the premier anime conventions around and provides a wide range of cultural panels, musical guests, games, dances, workshops, etc.  Guest speakers are drawn from all over the USA and Japan and include directors, voice actors, and artists.

More of my photos from NDK 2014 can be seen here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.644510268998108.1073741852.191755527606920&type=1

Stan LeeStan Lee jokes with audience at Salt Lake Comic Con

John BarrowmanJohn Barrowman entertains crowd at Salt Lake Comic Con

Lou FerrignoLou Ferrigno flexes in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Salt Lake Comic Con

As one of the official photographers at Salt Lake Comic Con 2014 I was able to get up close and personal while photographing many of the celebrities. There was a record-breaking crowd of over 120,000 in attendance over the weekend, making Salt Lake Comic Con the largest convention in Utah and the third largest Comic Convention in the United States.  With so many panels and celebrities in attendance, the chore was figuring out how to see everything on my list. One of the highlights for me was when I attended Lou Ferrigno's presentation. At the end, the moderator asked me to come on stage and take a photo of Lou and the crowd (seen above).

See more of my celebrity photos at Salt Lake Comic Con here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.636955876420214.1073741849.191755527606920&type=3

It appears that 2014 is likely the last year that the Colorado Balloon Classic will be held in Colorado Springs.  After nearly 40 years of holding the event in the Springs and becoming Colorado's largest air show, the organizers point to difficulties with city politics and procedures as well as sponsorship challenges.  The Balloon Classic has been one of the city's longest traditions and has consistently drawn huge crowds over Labor Day weekend.  People came from all over the region over the past three days to watch scores of balloons take off over Prospect Lake in the mornings and to watch the "Balloon Glo" event in the evenings.  It will truly be sad if the tradition comes to an end.

See more photos from the 2014 Colorado Balloon Classic here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.629525857163216.1073741848.191755527606920&type=1

I just found out that I was selected to be part of the media team as a photographer for Salt Lake Comic Con in September!  I can't be more excited.  They anticipate about 120,000 attendees.  Salt Lake Comic Con is the third largest Comic Con in the United States.  There will be a ton of cool celebrities including Stan Lee!  Stay tuned for a ton of geeky photos in early September.

As I don't have a specific photo or album to share yet, please enjoy a compilation of Doctor Who cosplay photos that I have taken over several previous conventions.  (Season 8 of Doctor Who is upon us!)

The album link is here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.625941554188313.1073741847.191755527606920&type=3